The big east announced this week that it will expand its football membership from 8 to 10. Read more after the jump to find out why…
Altogether, the conference consists of 16 institutions, only 8 of which are currently football-playing schools. Details are limited at this time but you will hear talk of Villanova, Texas Christian University (TCU), and University of Central Florida (UCF) as the three prospective teams to join the division. Big East Commissioner, John Marinatto, stated that the conference presidents agreed that by increasing the number of the league’s football playing members to 10, it would best serve the interests of all 16 institutions.
Villanova is a Big East member in every other sport…it has a top FCS (football champsionship subdivision) program that might someday become Philadelphia’s AQ-conference team. Central Florida doesn’t have much football success, but it has poured millions into new facilities and sits in a football-crazy growth market. TCU brings on-field standing, a fertile new recruiting ground, and a huge television market but it doesn’t offer a big enough fan base.
Translated: the Big East’s goals are to keep its strongest members from switching to other conferences by bettering its reputation and it wants to ensure its champion retains an automatic qualifying spot in a Bowl Championship Series. Chances are that they are just doing this for more media attention. What do you think?
